Ditching-machine.



F. H. GERDEIVIAN.

DlTCHlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATIONFILED [150.23, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

Patented Apr. 17, 191?.

WITNESSES:

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F. H. GERDEMAN.

DITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0c.23,1914.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Patented Apr. 17,1917.

WITNESSES:

5175 cm. FNOIB-LI'INQ, WASHINGYON. u ::v

* F. H. GERDEMAN.

DITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.23.1914.

WITNESSES:

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FRANK H. GERDEMAN, OF FINDLAY, OHIO.

machine-Macrame.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1?, 12 9157.

Application filed December 23, 1914.. Serial N 0. 878,649.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. Gnnnnrmn, a c1t1zen of the United States, residing at Findla in the count of Hancock and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and use ful improvements in Ditching-Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of ditching machines in which the excavation is effected by means of scoops or shovels carried upon the periphery of a wheel revolving in a vertical plane. In machines of this class, to obtain greatest efiiciency, it is important that each shovel after it has been filled, shall be completely emptied and cleared of adhering soil and that the mecha nism employed in accomplishing this shall be of such flexibility as to yield to stones, roots and the like, and to thus avoid the cause of breakage frequent in this class of machinery as heretofore constructed. 7

With these and other ends in view, my invention consists of the devices, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and shown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side-elevation, partly in vertical section, of an excavating-wheel of the character referred to, together with the frame in which it is mounted and its driving mechanism and the adjustable supports for the frame; Fig. 2, a sectional plan-view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 2e, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, an elevation, partly in transverse section and on an enlarged scale, of the parts hereinafter referred to seen from the right of line y-y, Fig. 1; Fig. i, a sectional-elevation of a shovel or scoop and its cutter and a portion of the excavating wheel-rim, partly in section, taken on line mm, Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the cleaner hereinafter referred to; Fig. 6, an elevation, on an enlarged scale, seen from the left in Fig. 1, of the devices hereinafter referred to, for forcing the scoops or shovels, after they have been emptied and cleaned, into operative relation with the excavating wheel preparatory to their next cut in the trench; Fig. 7, an elevation of the cleaner hereinafter referred to seen from the right in Fig. 6; ig. 8, a plairview of the devices for applying pressure upon the dirt carrying scoop or shovel while being acted upon by the cleaner; Fig. 9, an elevation, seen from the right in Fig. 1, illustrating the an rangen'ient of differential sheaves for raisin and lowering the excavating wheel-carrying frame and for supplying a guide for ropes or cables which apply a strong but not unyielding pressure to the scoops or shovels hereinafter referred to; Fig. 10, a sectionalview, on an enlarged scale, of the excavatorwheel hereinafter referred to, taken on the plane indicated by line oc in Fig. 1; Fig. 11, a side-elevation of the shaft and its arms shown in Fig. 6; 12, a side-elevation of the shaft and sheaves shown in Fig. 9, showing the manner of securing the ropes or cables thereto; Fig. 13, a plan-view of the scoop or shovel shown in section in Fig. 1-, showing its bottom or outer side; Fig. i i, a like view of the cutter and cutter-frame hereinafter referred to and which moves in advance of the shovel; Fig. 15, a transverse scctional-elevaticn of the shovel, taken on line tz", Figs. 4 and 13, and Fig. 16, a cross section of my cleaner taken on line :;s, Fig.

Like letters and numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

in the drawings, A is a wheel-truck which carries a suitable engine for actuating the various working parts of the device and carrying drums or spools for the ropes or cables hereinafter referred to. These drums and engine are not shown in the drawings and will be understood without further explanation or illustration. truck A. carries stout uprights 13. members of the frame wheel are slidably with the uprights B The side C for the excavatorand pivotally connected as at D. The excavator 'whcel E,-that is, the wheel upon which the excavating shovels hereinafter referred to are mounted,1n the present instance has no spokes or hub but 1s mounted on rollers F mounted and journaled upon the wheelframe and engaged and traversed by the internal periphery of the excavator-wheel. The excavator-wheel is caused to rotate on these bearings by means of a gear wheel G mounted upon the wheel-frame and engaged with a circumferential rack H. The gearwheel G is driven by a chain I driven from the power-truck A. The parts thus far re The rear part of the ferred to are of well known construction and need not be here more particularly described.

At the top of the uprights B is a sheave 1 over which passes a cable 2 leading from a drum on the power-truck to the rear end of the frame for the excavating wheel where it is secured, as at 3. By means of the cable 2 the rear end of the frame 0 may be raised and lowered. 41 represents a pair of sheaves journaled between the uprights B and over which sheaves pass ropes or cables 5 leading from a drum on the powertruck to pulleys 6 fixed on shaft 7 which is journaled between standards 8 secured to the side-bars C. The ropes 5 are wound around the pulleys 6 and secured to the pulley as illustrated in Fig. 13. Upon the shaft 7 is fixed another pulley 9 of larger diameter than the pulleys 6. -Wound upon and secured to the pulley 9 is a rope or cable leading, as presently to be described,-to the forward part of the frame 0. The winding and the unwinding of the rope 5 upon the pulleys 6 raises or lowers the forward end of the frame C. It will now be seen that the frame is suspended from and is raised and lowered by the cables 2 and 5.

The excavator wheel E consists of two spaced parallel annular rims 10 suitably secured together. Upon and between these two rinis is mounted the digging mechanism and the devices for receiving and carrying the excavated earth out from the trench. There is a series of these digging and earthcarrying devices disposed at equi-distant intervals around the wheel E, a description of one of which will suffice for all.

1111 are stout lugs secured to the wheelrims 10 and between these lugs are rigidly secured a pair of stout cutters 12 projecting forwardly in the direction of the rotation of the excavating wheel. (See Figs. 1-1 1.) 12-12 are laterally projecting cutters secured to the rims 10 in advance of the cutters 12. 13 is a shovel or dirt-carrier having its forward end pivoted, as at 1 to the frame of the cutters. The shovel 13 swings freely within certain limits upon this pivot. As the excavating-wheel revolves, the forward edges of the cutters 12, describing the arc of a circle in the bottom of the trench, scoop up a quantity of earth which fills the shovel. The bottom 13 and the side wings 13 of the shovel, are curved inwardly in such fashion as to increase its capacity and to prevent the earth from spilling out before the shovel becomes inverted at the top of the wheel. Then this point is reached the earth is dumped by gravity onto a traveling apron 15 running upon rollers driven by gears (yg which apron discharges the earth at the side of and beyond the trench. In many soils the earth adheres to the bottom and sides of the shovel and it becomes necessary to provide means for clearing the shovel of such adhering matter. 16 is a scraper conforming at its front end in cross. section to the interior of the shovel. (See Fig. 16.) This scraper is mounted transversely upon the end of one arm of a lever 17, shaped as a bell-crank, and fulcrumed as at 18, upon the wheel-frame. The end of the lever 17 opposite the scraper carries a sheave 19. The lever 17 is connected with the wheel-frame by a chain 17 a and a screweye 17 forming an adjustable stop which limits the upward swing of the scraper 16. (See Fig. 5.) 20 is a sheave j ournaled upon the outer end of an arm 21 pivoted, as at 22, upon the top of an upright piece 23 carried by the frame of the wheel. The shaft of the sheave 20 carries a roller 241 in the path of and adapted to roll upon a rib 13 formed on the outer side of the shovel 13. A cable 25 secured to the pulley 9 (see Fig. 12), leads under the sheave 19 and over the sheave 20 and to near the forward part of the wheel-frame as hereinafter explained. It will be seen that the strain of the weight of the forward part of the wheel-frame upon the cable 5 is, through pulleys 6 and 9 transmitted to the cable 25 and to the arm of the lever 17 upon which the sheave 19 is mounted, also to the sheave 20 upon the shaft of which the roller 24 is mounted. This weight thus applied to the scraper and to the roller 24.- holds these two members strongly pressed toward each other. Now as the interior of the forward end of the shovel encounters the scraping edge of the scraper, the roller 24; at the same time rides upon the outer rib 13 of the shovel, holding the shovel to the action of the scraper. Should a pebble or stone or root or other unyielding substance be caught between the scraper and the shovel, the excessive strain will cause the arm 21 carrying the roller 24: to swing upwardly, yielding to the upward swing of the shovel upon its pivot, the lever 17 at the same time yielding and swinging downwardly. It will be seen that the weight of the forward end of the wheel-frame tran mitted to the sheaves 19-2() through the cable 25, while maintaining the shovel and scraper in operative relation, forms a safety device which prevents the breaking of the shovel or the scraper by too great rigidity of the parts.

After the shovel has been cleared of earth,

,as just described, it is necessary'that the shovel be held against swinging upon its pivot so that it may maintam such position in relation to its cutter that it may be readily filled and so that the contents of the shovel shall no be dumped before it is inverted above the traveling apron. provide a stout metal strip 26, curved in an arc of the circle described by the inner periphery of the excavator-wheel and hereinafter termed the segment. This segment is,

To this end I r by means of cross braces 27 attached to the side-bars of the wheel-frame, secured to the wheel-frame between the inner edges of the rims 10, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 10. The ends of this segment extend to near the up per part of the excavator-wheel. In width the segment is less than the space between the rims 10, leaving a space between the rims and the margins of the segment, as illustrated in Fig. 10. Upon the inner sides of the side-walls of the shovel, which sidewalls project rearwardly of the bottom or floor of the shovel, are lugs 28. After the shovel leaves the cleaner it falls upon its pivot in such position that the extended sides or wings of the shovel move into the spaces between the margins of the segment and the rims of the wheel and with the lugs 28 overlapping and engaging the margins of the segment on their inner sides, as clearly shown in Fig. 10. Now the shovel is prevented from swinging upon its pivot 1% until the lugs 28 emerge from their engagement with the segment at a point at the top of the wheel just in advance of the dumping and cleaning points.

0 insure the inward swing of the shovels on their pivots so that the lugs 28 shall en gage the margins of the segment, I provide an arm 29 mounted on shaft 30, journaled as at 31 upon the side-bars of the wheel-frame. The shaft 30 carries another arm 32 to which the cable 25 extends, taut, and is secured as at 33. The arm 29 is so positioned that it passes between the knives or cutters 12 (see Fig. 14:) and rides upon the rib 13 (see Fig. 13.) It will be seen that the pressure of the arm 29 is tensioned by the weight of the forward end of the wheel-frame transmitted through the cables 5 and 25 running upon pulleys 6, 9 and 20 to the arm 32. Secured to the arm 32, as at 33, is a rod 32 leading through a lug at the forward end of the Wheel-frame, the extremity of the rod being threaded and provided with a nut 32. While the rod is movable longitudinally, the nut forms an adjustable stop which limits the forward swing and the consequent pressure of the arm 29 upon the successive shovels. If for any cause the lugs 28 fail to properly engage the margins of the segment 26, it becomes necessary to provide a stop which will prevent the shovel from swinging in too far toward the center of the excavating-wheel. Such a stop is indicated at 34, (Figs. 11013,) projecting outwardly and laterally from the side of the shovel and in such position as to ride or strike upon the outer edge of the wheel-rim 10.

In some soils the cleaning devices above described are unnecessary and may be advantageously dispensed with. Therefore, to the cable 25, near the pulley 9, is secured another cable 35, as at 36, which cable leads to a spool or drum 37 journaled at the rear end of the wheel-frame. This spool or drum is provided with a hand-wheel 38 and a pawl and ratchet 39. By means of the handwheel the cables 25-35 may be tightened or loosened, the cable 25 when loosened relieving the tension on the scraper 16, roller 24 and arm 29. Now the scraper falls away from the shovels and the roller may be held elevated by set-screw 21 while arm 29 is held retracted by nut 32 The shovels may now be held immovable on their pivots by means of pins inserted in holes 40 in the sides of the shovels and the wheel-rims 10. (See Fig. 1.)

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel mounted in the frame, a series of pivoted excavating shovels carried by the wheel, a scraper pivoted upon the frame and adapted to scrape in succession the interior of said shovels, and means controlled by the weight of the frame and wheel for yieldingly pressing the successive shovels and the scraper into operative relation.

2. In a ditching machine, a wheel, a series of excavating shovels carried by said Wheel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape successively the interior of said shovels, a flexible support for said wheel, and connections between said support and the scraper, the arrangement being such that the weight of the wheel furnishes pressure for the scraper toward the shovels.

3. In a ditching machine, a wheel, a series of excavating shovels carried by said wheel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape successively the interiors of said shovels, a flexible support for said wheel, connections between said scraper and said support and a stop which limits the movement of the scraper toward the shovels.

4. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel revolubly mounted in said frame, a series of shovels carried by said wheel, a scraper adapted to scrape in succession said shovels, pivotal connections between said several shovels and the wheel, devices for pressing the shovels in succession toward the scra er, a flexible support for the frame, said flexible support being connected with said pressure devices whereby the weight of the frame and wheel is transmitted in part to said pressure devices.

5. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel revolubly mounted in said frame, a series of shovels carried by the wheel, a pivoted scraper positioned to scrape in succession the interiors of said shovels, pivotal connoctions between said several shovels and the wheel, devices for pressing the shovels in succession toward the scraper, devices for pressing the scraper toward the shovel, a flexible support for the frame, said flexible support being operatively connected with said several pressure devices.

6. In ditching machine, a frame, a Wheel rcvolubly mounted in the frame, a series of pivoted excavating shovels carried by the *heel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape 'n succession the interiors of said shovels, and means for mutually pressing the shovels and the scraper into operative relation during a portion of their circuit, combined with means for holding the successive shovels immovable upon their pivots during the remainder of their circuit.

7. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel revolubly mounted in the frame, a series of pivoted excavating shovels carried by the wheel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape in succession the interiors of said shovels, means disposed in operative relation to said shovels for pressing the shovels and the scraper into operative relation during a portion of theircircuit, combined with a segmental track adapted for successive engagement with said shovels during the remainder of their circuit.

8. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel revolubly' mounted in the frame, a series of pivoted excavating shovels carried by the wheel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape in succession the interiors of said shovels, means disposed in operative relation to said shovels for pressing the shovels and the scraper into" operative relation, combined with a flexible support for said frame and its burden, said flexible support being opera= tively connected with said scraper and said Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,

shovels to force them into operative relation, and a segmental track adapted for successive engagement with said shovels.

9. In a ditching machine, a frame, a wheel revolubly mounted in the frame, a series of pivoted excavating shovels carried by the wheel, a pivoted scraper adapted to scrape in succession the interiors of said shovels, and means for pressing the shovels and the scraper into operative relation, combined with a flexible support for said frame and its burden, said flexible support being operatively connected with said scraper and said shovels to force them into operative rela tion, a segmental track arranged for successive engagement with said shovels, means for directing said shovels into operative engagement with said segmental track, and operative connections between said flexible support and said directing means. 7

10. A ditching machine comprising a horizontal frame, a wheel revolubleupon the frame in a vertical plane, a series of shovels mounted upon said wheel and pivoted to swing in the plane of the wheel, a segmental track which engages said shovels-during the lower portion of their circuit, and an elastically pivoted scraper which cooperates with said shovels successively at a point in the upper part of such circuit.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK H. GERDEWAN.

lVitnesses:

G120; B. ORWIG, GERTRUDE BnAoKEN.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

